Math Prompts

Aaron has been taking part in a summer program through the school that, truthfully, has been quite a bit of work. Had I known this when I signed him up for it, I might not have done so. But, you live and learn, right?

Anyway, part of the program is to send an answer in, each day, to three prompts: one that is creative, one that is geared toward English/Language Arts, and one that deals with math. Yes, Aaron has loved the math prompts, mostly because they are logic problems. Funny thing is, as logical as I am, I cannot always solve these little things myself. However, Aaron can. 

So just for fun, I'm posting a few of these questions. If you want to give yourself a headache -- or prove that you are smarter than a soon-to-be fourth grader (which apparently, I am not ) -- go ahead and take a gander at these. They're good.

Math Prompt #1: 
Jim tells lies on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  He tells the truth on all other days.  Freda tells lies on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  She tells the truth on all other days. If both of them say, “Yesterday I lied,” then what day is it today?

By the way, I could do this one.

Math Prompt #2:

You are visiting an island with two types of people: knights who always tell the truth; and knaves who always lie.  In each of the scenarios that follow, you are approached by two people, each of whom tells you something that may be honest or not.  Your job is to decide who are knights and who are knaves, and then be able to defend your claims.

1. Angela and Bernard walk up to you.  

Angela says, “Bernard is a knight.”

Bernard says, “Angela and I are of opposite type.”

2. Charles and Denise approach you.  

Charles says, “Both of us are knights.”

Denise says, “Charles is knave.”

3. Edward and Francis walk up to you.  

Edward says nothing.  

Francis says, “Both of us are knaves.”

4. Grace and Henry walk up to you.

Grace says, “Henry is a knave.”

Henry says, “Grace is a knave.”

Got this one, too, although my head hurt.

Math Prompt #3:

Tom, John, Fred, and Bill are friends whose occupations are (in no particular order) nurse, secretary, teacher, and pilot.  They attended a picnic recently, and each one brought his favorite meat (hamburger, chicken, steak, and hot dogs) to barbecue.  From the clues below, determine each man’s occupation and favorite meat.

Clue # 1:  Tom is neither the nurse nor the teacher.

Clue # 2: Fred and the pilot play in a jazz band together.

Clue # 3: The burger lover and the teacher are not musically inclined.  

Clue # 4: Tom brought the hot dogs.

Clue # 5: Bill sat next to the burger fan and across from the steak lover.

Clue # 6:  The secretary does not play an instrument or sing.

I'm still in the game, hanging by a thread...

Math Prompt #4:  
Tyler, Raymod, Chris, Dirk, and Kevin were starters on the 2008 AAU All-Star Basketball Team.  Two of them shot with their left hand, and three shot with their right hand.  Two of them were 6’9’’ tall.  Chris and Tyler shot with the same hand; Dirk and Kevin used different hands to shoot.  Raymod and Kevin were in the same height range, while Chris and Dirk were in different height ranges.  The player who played center was over 6’9’ and was left-handed.  Who was he and who is everyone else?

Frickin' question! Scratching my head and reeling over this one.  A day later.

Math Prompt #5:

The police department arrested four suspects-two men and two women-on suspicion of petty left.  The sergeant on duty who processed the suspects was having a bad day.  He produced this list of suspects and descriptions:

Robin Wilde: scar on left cheek

Cary Steele:  purple hair

Pat Fleece:  tall and blonde

Connie Theeves:  birthmark on left wrist

When the list landed on the arresting detective’s desk, he was furious.  He went to the sergeant and said, “Paul, you might be having a bad day, but this list is full of mistakes.  The first and last names are all mismatched, and none of the descriptions matches either the first or last name it is listed with.  Do you think you can fix this?

The sergeant replied, Sorry Tom.  I am having a bad day, but I think I need a little bit more information.

The detective answered, Okay, Paul.  Here’s some more info.  Connie has purple hair to match her purple high tops.  The men are Steele and Fleece.  A woman has a scar.  Do you think you can straighten this mess out now?

The sergeant was now able to determine the first and last name of each suspect, as well as their descriptions.  You work it out, too.

Eureka! I figured it out!!! I'm stopping now, before this program ends, and leaving on a high note. Thank goodness this program isn't actually for me!